Peter murray



(No Model.) 4S11eets` Sheet 1. P. MURRAY, Jr.

FAN.

No. 428,779. Patented May`2'7, 1890.

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P. MURRAY, Jr.- FAN.

No. 428,779. Patented May 27,1890'.

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FAN.

No. 428,779.A

Patented May 27, 1.890,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFBICE.

PETER MURRAY, JR., OF NEWARK, NEV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE NE JERSEY VENTILAT ING AND POVER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,779, dated May 27, 1890.

Application filed March 28, 1887. Renewed October 3, 1889. Serial No. 325,891. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known thatI, PETER MURRAY, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Fans, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates, generally, to that class of power-fans which are used for cool# ing and Ventilating restaurants and other places. The invention relates particularly, however, to improvements in the means for supporting and driving the fans and for putting them into and out of operation as required. Wliere these fans are employed for cooling and Ventilating a room, and particularly where the room is large, so that a number of the fans are required, it is frequently desirable to stop or start one or more of the fans without stopping or starting the others. It is therefore desirable that each fan should be provided with means by which its movements can be controlled independently of the others. One feature of the present invention relates especially to means for effecting this result. Other features of the invention relate more particularly to the means for supporting the fans and the connections for operating them.

As a full understanding of the invention can only be given by an illustration and a detailed description of the c`onstruction and operation of the devices embodying the same, all further preliminary description willbe omitted and a full description of the invention given, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a sectional elevation of a fan and its support or hanger embodying the improvements constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same, taken on the line o: of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of Fig. l, showing particularly the means for stopping and starting the fan. Figs. i and 5 are detail views illustrating the construction of the hanger or support, which will be hereinafter explained. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig..2,

illustrating a modification, which will be eX- plained. Figs. 7 to 13 illustrate modifications in the stopping and starting devices, which will also be hereinafter referred to and explained.

Referring now particularly to Figs. l and 2, itis to be understood that the fan proper is of the ordinary or substantially the ordinary form,`consisting of two or more hori- A Zontally-arran ged blades A, which project ra- 6o dially from a hub B, in which they are supported in such manner that they can readily be adjusted to different angles of inclination. The hub B is mounted to turn 'freely upon the lower end of a vertical shaft C, which is supported in a suitable frame or hanger D,

depending' from the ceiling of the room. The

shaft C is provided at its upper end with a grooved or other pulley c, around which the belt for driving the fan passes.

As shown in Figs. l and 2, the hanger D is composed of' four arms d, which are arranged with relation to each other, as best shown in Fig. 2, and are secured at their upper ends to a cap-piece a of any suitable form, preferably circular. The fo'ur arms el composing the hanger will preferably be cast in three pieces, two of the arms in one piece and the other vtwo separately. The arms CZ are so formed .that when placed together they pro- 8o vide bearings Z) for the shaft C, which bearings will be provided with any suitable form of journal-boxes c.

The arms d are lield together, so as to keep the bearings h in position around the shaft C, as followsz' The two arms which are cast together are connected by ring-like portions 7, which form the upper and lower portions of the bearings h. The bearings b are provided with recesses m, (see Figs. 2, 4, and 5,) 9o and the two arms cZ,which are cast separately, are provided with lugs Z, which enter these recesses, and thus complete the bearings b and hold the four arms together. The upper bearing b is provided with an oil-cup g, into which oil can be introduced for properly lubricating the bearings of the shaft, and the shaft is provided below the lower bearing with a similar cup g, in which any oil passing through the lower bearing will accumuroo late and be prevented from dripping` from the lower end of the shaft. Between the bearings l) the shaft C is inclosed in a tube E, which is held in place by thimbles j", and which prevents the shaft, along which the oil will be conducted from one bearing to the other, from being exposed.

In placing the hangers for fans of this class in position it is of course necessary that the hangers should be so secured te the ceiling that the shaft C will be vertical, as otherwise the fan would not run easily and evenly. This is ordinarily a work of considerable difficulty, as it usually or at least frequently happens that the ceiling upon which the hangers are to be secured is not perfectly smooth and level. lleretofore when this happened it was necessary to place wedges or blocks between the cap-piece a and the ceiling, so as to hold the former away from the ceiling at 011e or more points, and thus make it level and the shaft C vertical. To obviate this difficulty and to make the work of putting up the fans less diiieult and troublesome, and also to do away with the unsightly wedges or blocks heretofore used, the cap piece a is made thicker upon one side than upon the other, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the plane of its upper edge will not be horizontal when the shaft C is plumb. The upper edge of the cap-piece a is provided with a circular groove 71, which receives a correspondingly-shaped rib formed on the under side of a supplemental cap-piece 7.', which is also made thicker upon one side than upon the other, as also shown in Fig. i.

The cap-piece a and the supplemental cappiece k are so proportioned that when thethickest portion of' one and the thinnest portion of the other are brought together, as in Fig. l, the shaft C will be exactly vertical to the plane of the top of the supplemental cap-piece. From this construction it results that by adjusting the supplemental cappiece to different positions the hanger l) can be made to accommodate itself to almost any inequality or condition of the ceiling, so as to bring the shaft C to a vertical position.

The hanger D, instead of being composed of four of the arms d, as in Figs. l and 2, may consist of a greater or less number. In many cases three will be the preferred number. \Vhen the hanger consists of three of these arms, it will preferably be cast in two pieces, two of the arms in one piece and the third in another piece, as illustrated in Fig. (i. ln this case the arms will be held together, the same as in the case of the four arms.

Referring now to Figs. l and 3, it is to be understood that the hub ll is mounted so as to turn freely upon the shaft C, so that the shaft can be driven without necessarily imparting any motion to the hub and the fanblades. The lower end of the shaft C, which forms the journal for the hub li, is bored out for a distance equal or about equal to the length of the hub, so that the portion of the shaft which forms the journal a is onlya thin shell. Into the hollow journal thus formed there is fitted a hollow plug o, which is secured to the shaft,and has a shoulder p, which forms a support for the hub l to prevent it from falling from the shaft. The opening'in the plug o is made conical, and both the journal n and the upper end of the plug o are split, as shown at q, so that they can readily be eX- panded. Fitted into the conical. opening in the upper end of the plug o is a conical plug fr, having a stem s, which passes through an opening in the plug o, and is provided wit-ha suitable knob or handle ll, by which it can be conveniently grasped.

The operation of the apparatus thus organized is as follows: The belt being upon the pulley c, so as to set the shaft C in 1notion,it is only necessary, in order to start the fan, to grasp the handle ll and pull downward, so as to force the plug r into the conical opening in the plug o. This will at once expand the plug o and the journal n, so as to force and hold the latter against the hub lil with sufficient pressure to clutch the hub and start the fan. .lo stop the fan the operation is simply reversed. As soon as the plug r is moved upward in the conical opening of the plug 0 the plug o and the journal a will contract, so as to release the hub B. As soon as the hub is thus released the friction between the end of the hub and the shoulder 'p will not be sufficient to move the fan against the resistance of the air, and the fan will consequently be arrested, and the shaft C will continue to revolve idly until the hub ll is again clutched to it.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 differs but very slightly from that which has just been described. In this case the shaft C, instead of being bored out at its lower end, as in Figs. l and S, is provided with a split sleeve which extends below the end of the shaft and forms the expansible journaln for the hub ll. This sleeve n is fast to the shaft C, and the opening at its lower end is made conical to afford a seat 'for the conical plug fr. The operation of the apparatus when thus constructed is the same as already described.

'lhe construction shown in Fig. 8 is the same as that shown in Fig. 7, except that the opening in the lower end of the sleeve n, instead of being conical, is straight, and the sleeve is provided with a conical ringr, which serves as a seat for the conical plug fr. The ring y1,' is made in two or more pieces, as indicated, so that it will readily spread and contract with the journal n as the plug is moved upward and downward.

In the construction shown in Fig. 9 the shaft C is made tapering at its lower end to form the plug fr, and the expansiblc journal n is arranged to be moved onto and oil' the plug to effect the clutching and unclutching l of the hub. For this pui'pose the shaft is pro- IOO IlO

vided at its lower end with a fiat head w, the upper face of which is made to form an incline, as shown, and between this head and the hub B there is interposed a loose tubular sleeve y, the lower end of which forms a corresponding incline, and the upper end of which has a shoulder p to support the hub and a conical tubular extension yn, which surrounds the tapered end of the shaft, and being split at q forms. the expansible journal for the hub B. When the apparatus is thus organized and it is desired to put the fan in motion, it is only necessary to grasp and hold the sleeve y. The motion of the shaft C will then cause the incline upon the lower edge of the sleeve to ride up the corresponding incline upon the upper face of the head fw, thereby raising the hub B and journal 'n upward on the tapered end r of the shaft C, and causing the journal n to spread and the hub to be clutched to the shaft. To stop the fan the sleeve y will be grasped and held until theincline upon the sleeve has been carried down the incline of the head 1U, when the sleeve will immediately drop, thus allowing` the hub B to be unclutched from the shaft C, so as to stop the fan.

As thusfar described, the starting and stopping of the fan have in all cases been eected by expanding and contracting the sleeve u, forming the journal upon which the hub B of the fan is supported. The same result may, however, be accomplished by forming the sleeve 'a upon or connecting vit to the hub B and causing it to be contracted around the shaft C or the journal to clutch the hub and start the fan, and vice versa. A construction of this character is shown in Figs. l2 and 13, Fig. l2 being a side view of the apparatus and Fig. 18 a vertical section. In this case the lower end of the shaft() is solid and straight, and is provided with a knob K, which forms the shoulder p for the hub B to rest upon. lThe split sleeve n is formed upon the lower side of the hub B and is tapered upon its outside, as shown. The knob K is provided with a shoulder, upon which is formed a spiral cam 4, and surrounding the upper end of the knob and the tapered sleeve n is a conical collar r, upon the lower edge of which is formed a spiral cam 5, corresponding to the cam 4. With the apparatus thus organized it is only necessary, in order to start the fan, to grasp the collar o* and hold it so as to cause the cam 5 to ride up on the cam 4. This will raise the collar onto the tapered sleeve a and contract it around the shaft C, so as to clutch the sleeve and the knob B to the shaft. To stop the fan the operation is the same. The collar will be grasped and held Vuntil the abrupt portion of the cam 5 falls off the abrupt portion of the cam 4. The collar willv then drop and allow the sleeve to expand and release the knob.

In all the constructions whichhave been thus far described the starting and stopping of the fan havebeen elfected by clutching and unclutching the hub of the fan to and from the shaft, the shaft being continuously revolved. It is manifest, however, that the saine result can be accomplished by clutching and unclutching the pulley c to and from the shaft, and in some cases this will be preferable, as by that means the shaft will be at rest when the fan is not in motion. This clutching and unclutching of the pulley c can be effected in a variety of ways, the same as or similar to those described for effecting the clutching or unclutching of the hub B. Two of the several ways in which this can be effected are illustrated in Figs. lO and l1. In the construction shown in Fig. 10 the shaft C, instead of being solid, is tubular in form, and is provided with a rod I, which extends the entire length of the shaft, terminating at its lower end in a suitable knob or handle H. The upper end of the shaft C, which passes through the hub of the pulley c and forms the journal a for the pulley, is made conical, andthe rod I- is provided with a conical sleeve, forming a plug r, which is loose upon the rod, and is held in position between collars 8 and fits into the conical portion of the shaft. The upper end of the rod l is screwthreaded and works in a nut 9,formed in an arm extending from the hanger D. Vhen the apparatus is thus organized, it is only necessary, in order to start the fan, to grasp the handle H and turn the rod I in the nut 9, so as to move the rod, and with it the plug o, downward. This will force the plug into the conical journal n, which is split, as indicated at q, thereby expanding the journal and clutching the pulley c to it, so as to set the shaft in motion.V To stop the fan the operation is simply reversed.

The construction shown in Fig. l1 is the same as that just described, except that the sleeve or plug fr is fast to or formed on the rod I, and the rod is moved upward and downward to clutch and unclutch the pulley c by pulling and pushing upon the handle H, instead of by turning the handle.

Many other modifications might readily be IOO IIO

made in the particular devices for effecting the starting and stopping of the fan without departing from the principle of the invention; but those described are deemed sufficient to fully illustrate the principle and operation of the invention.

That l claim is-V l. In a hanger for fans, &c., the combination, with the arms d, rigidly secured to the stationary cap-piece a, which is made thicker at one side than at the other, of the supplemental cap-piece 7s, also made thicker at one side than at the other and adapted to be adjusted to different positions upon the cappiece a, said cap-piece and supplemental cappiece being provided with a circular rib h and a corresponding groove, substantially as described. l

2. The combination, with the pulley c, shaft (l, and hul) B of the fun, of the expfmsihle the shaft, :md viee versn, substantially as de- Io sleeve n und plug or collar o', whereby the scribed.

pulley, shaft, and hul) een be elutehed und ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set unelutehed to Sturt und stop the fzunsnhsmn my hund in the presence of two subscribing' 5 tiully :1S described. witnesses.

23. The Combination, with ihe shaft C, of PE'IER MURRAY, JR. the hub l5, arranged to turn freely upon the lVitnesses: expnnsiblejournal n, and the plug/V, arranged J. A. HOVEV,

to expand said journal 11o clutch rhe hub to Jl'. J. KENNEDY. l 

